The invention is generally related to connecting plastic components, and more particularly to an apparatus and a method for interconnecting adjacent plastic panels.
Plastic and other panels are used in many different applications for a wide variety of modular or multi-component products. In many of these applications, a plurality of panels and/or components are interconnected to one another to form a finished product assembly. A number of different structures and methods have been devised that are useful to interconnect or attach two adjacent components to one another.
In one example, two adjacent plastic or steel panels may be suitably welded together to form a permanent, water-tight joint at the intersection between the two panels. In another example, each adjacent panel may have a flange wherein the flanges abut or overlap one another when attached. Snap-in-place clips are sometimes used to sandwich or capture the flanges between parts of the clips to secure the flanges together. Alternatively, the abutting flanges may have holes that overlie one another. Standard threaded fasteners or snap-in fasteners can then be passed through the holes to secure the panels together in a known manner. Such fasteners can be fabricated from virtually any suitable material, but are very often formed from metals or plastics.
Problems associated with such connecting methods and structures are abundant. Conventional threaded fasteners result in use of a number of component parts (nuts, bolts, washers, and the like) that require significant labor to install. Small plastic clips and/or plastic snap-in fasteners can easily break or become damaged during installation and during use of the product. The joints formed between flanges of plastic panels tend to be relatively weak and susceptible to bending or breakage when external forces are applied. Such conventional joint structures do not provide for a sturdy combined panel because of the weakness in the joint. Welded joints, whether metal or plastic require significant labor and equipment expense to prepare, form, and cool the welded area. Further, other than the welded joints, such panel connections are not particularly water tight or leak resistant, unless additional elements, such as seals, are added to the joints.